“Damn it, Dread, get down!”A barrage of small arms fire ricocheted over Jesus Prime’s head as he ducked behind the remnants of a memorial statue. He could see Dreadspawn a few dozen yards away, having been separated from him in the fray. His companion had taken up his megapulse cannon, and was firing wildly with the unwieldy weapon, raking the horizon in the hopes of hitting something. The two had been ambushed whilst picking their way towards the centre of the shattered city, half a dozen Autobots working in concert to pin them down in their current positions.
“Prime! Keep your head down!”
With that, Dreadspawn leapt up, transforming into a VTOL jet fighter, and took off towards the source of the shooting that was suppressing them. Prime took the opportunity to reload his pistol, and made sure his chitinous bonesword was loose in its scabbard, ready to be drawn in a hurry. A barrage of machine gun fire and the sound of carpet bombing vindicated his decision, as Dreadspawn blanketed the ruins sheltering their attackers. Circling for a while, he returned to Prime once he was satisfied they had gone to ground.
“You hurt?”
“Just a scratch. We charging?”
“Not just yet. Your shoulder, let me see it.”
“Sod that, we’re taking these bastards now.”
“Not with a wound like that, Dread. You go down, you slow us both down.”
Amid a storm of cursing from his partner, Prime adjusted a dial on his laser pistol and affected a brief weld on Dreadspawn’s wound. Flexing his shoulder, Dreadspawn nodded approval and readied his cannon once again. Prime readjusted his pistol, and nodded back to Dreadspawn, who gestured in the directed they should charge. The pair waited for a beat, then leapt from either side of their shelter, the momentum of their charge toppling the gilded statue of Tertius as they sprinted towards their enemies’ position, hugging what little cover they could find. Dreadspawn was firing wildly ahead of him, forcing the Autobots to dig in behind their positions. As they neared their foes, Dreadspawn dropped the cannon and took off again, preparing for another strafing run. Prime rolled forwards, transforming as he went, not losing a second’s pace as his alternate mode slammed forcibly into the first obstacle that presented itself – an unfortunate Autobot who had had assumed the lack of firing had meant Dreadspawn had gone down. Turning swiftly, Prime ignored the stunned Autobot as it collapsed in the rubble, turning his attention to the five others who were swarming towards him.
“Prime! Head down!”
Dreadspawn’s warning was in vain, however, as he had no time to begin his barrage before several figures leapt from behind Prime’s position, firing on the surprised Autobots. In the ensuing confusion, Dreadspawn began to circle, not sure of when to fire. Prime drew back from the fighting, signalling to his airborne comrade to retreat. He could see now that the surprise attack had come from a group of Decepticons, including several wearing RDD insignia. Evidently, Dynamax had sent a squadron to support their advance. Prime turned sharply, and resumed his earlier course, enjoying the cacophony of death and slaughter behind him. Dreadspawn lowered his altitude, keeping himself scant yards above his partner.
“Just what I was thinking, Prime!”
“We’d best get out and leave them to it. There’s no time to lose.”
“South?”
“South.”
[ Click to attempt signal recovery... ]
